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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) today announced a cooperative agreement of $4.87 million to the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to pilot test the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s "Guidelines for Eliminating Child and Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains" over the next 28 months. The FLA will partner with three companies affiliated with the FLA – Nestlé, Olam-Prodiga and Balsu – in applying the guidelines to their hazelnut supply chain in Turkey.

Sharon Waxman, a lifelong advocate for human rights who has held leadership positions on Capitol Hill, at the U.S. State Department, and at the International Rescue Committee, has been named President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), effective December 1. She was elected by the organization’s 19-member Board of Directors, which includes six representatives each representing civil society, universities and industry, and an independent chair.

At its February 2015 meeting, the FLA Board of Directors unanimously approved the implementation of the FLA Fair Compensation Work Plan, upon the recommendation of the Monitoring Committee.

This approval was accompanied by an amendment that calls for the FLA president to bring forward recommendations by the June Board meeting to "revise the plan to: 1) take appropriate, meaningful actions, where reasonable, to implement the plan at an accelerated pace, and 2) make relevant accountability measures more concrete."

In December of 2014, DanWatch, a Danish civil society organization that monitors the corporate social responsibility of multinational companies, posted to its website the documentary “Seeds of Debt” by journalist Jens Pedersen. The documentary reported instances of exploitative high-interest money lending to farmers in rural Andhra Pradesh, India – including to farmers producing seeds for FLA affiliate Syngenta. Footage of an interview conducted with a Hyderabad-based agricultural research expert, who has assessed Syngenta farms on behalf of the FLA, went on to link low seed prices paid

On Monday, November 10, 2014, the Fair Labor Association sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon in support of “objective, inclusive, and productive national wage-setting negotiations that result in a minimum wage that is fair for workers” that was signed by nine FLA-affiliated companies sourcing from Cambodia.

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) joins the international community in condemning the use of deadly force by Cambodian security forces against striking garment workers in Phnom Penh that led to the tragic deaths of at least three workers, injuries to many others, and the imprisonment of protesting workers. These are grave violations of international labor standards and basic human rights.

Washington, DC – The Fair Labor Association (FLA) today announced the selection of Claudia Coenjaerts, a longtime official with the International Labor Organization (ILO), as President and CEO. Her appointment is effective as of Jan. 6, 2014.

From March 25 to 29, 2013, FLA provided training on the 12 dimensions of Fair Wages for Participating Company H&M in Guangzhou and Shanghai. Sixty-five participants from the sustainability and production teams joined the training and discussion.